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February 9, 2012

GET TO KNOW: JANE RICHARDSON & "Edinburgh Fog"

Let's get to know Jane Richardson:

Hello, Princesses!Thank you for having me here today.

Tell us about yourself. How long have you been writing? Off and on, most of my life in one form and another.

How did you get from your day job to writing romance?I’m not sure that I ever did! My current day job is my children and their education – that’s been the case for some time, and will be for a while to come.Other than that, many jobs I’ve done previously have involved writing.I used to write training materials and video scripts, which I can tell you could range from the sublime to the ridiculous and all points in-between.

Who is your favorite author(s) and why?That changes all the time, and there are just too many to list, but currently I’m a big fan of UK writer Maggie O’Farrell.Her writing is emotional and incredibly satisfying without being slushy or predictable.

Tell us about your new book. My current release with Muse It Up is a short story called Edinburgh Fog.

Blurb:When Greg Morton returned to Edinburgh, it was to follow his dream of opening the smartest bar-bistro in town. Now Tellers’ is a huge success—but the truth is, deep inside, it means little without the love of his life.

Four years ago, he left Julia Brady behind in London to realize his business ambitions in his Scottish home town. By the time he’d recognized his mistake and admitted to himself he wanted her back, the grapevine told him Julia had moved on—and Greg had to face the fact that he’d been a fool.

When Julia appears out of the blue in Tellers’, he knows the only thing he should do is walk right up to her and say hello. But it looks like someone else has their sights set on her, and he’s a quick worker.

Is Julia about to disappear from Greg's life a second time - this time, for good?

Excerpt:

“Another pot of coffee, boss.”

Ben shattered Greg’s getaway plans as he slapped his notepad on the marble bar-top.

“And Mr. Smarty over there says could that be with hot milk, because he wants a macchiato caldo, not freddo. I told him the milk comes hot out of the machine anyway, and is Freddo no’ that wee bloke with the big feet out Lord of the Rings? Don’t get smart-arsed with me, pal, is what I really wanted to say.”

Ben curled a lip and turned to face the growing crowd in the bar as he waited for Greg to top up another coffee jug. “Mind you, for a smart arse, he must have something.”

Greg glanced over at the object of Ben’s ire. “How’s that?”

Ben gesticulated with his chin towards Julia’s table. “Look at him! Manky wee ginger git, and he’s got those gorgeous babes with him. What’s he got that I haven’t?”

“Well, let’s think.” Chrissie wandered over from the other end of the bar to join in the conversation. “Wit? Intelligence? Charm and personality?” she offered, giving Greg a sly wink.

Any opportunity to wind up Ben about his ways with women usually wasn’t to be missed, but tonight Greg’s heart wasn’t in it. He pulled out a wooden tray inscribed with the Tellers’ logo and set the coffee pot down. “Probably just friends from work.” He half-filled a stainless steel jug with milk, jammed it under the foamer nozzle and let it rip.

Ben grinned as he reached for the tray. “Aye. You’re right there. Watch me go.”

Greg frowned. “Go where?”

“To show lover-boy how it’s done, what do you think?” He flicked a look over his shoulder. “Those babes’ll be nibbling their complimentary biscotti from my hand before I’m done. Man, oh, man...gimme an older woman any day. There’s no substitute for experience. What age do you reckon?”

“Twenty-nine,” Greg said, with much more precision than he’d intended to let show. “Or thereabouts,” he added lamely, relieved Ben hadn’t noticed the fact that Greg could have given him Julia’s date, time and place of birth too, had he asked.

Ben tipped his head, weighing up the facts. “A bit older than my usual conquests, but then, what’s life if not a challenge, eh, boss?” He balanced the tray high on one hand and sauntered in the direction of Julia’s table, six-pack abs and butt muscles on display, looking like a walking anatomy chart.

What kind of writing turns you off? Writing full of clichés and hackneyed ideas and descriptions.Believe me, it’s out there, and it needs to be put out of its misery!

What stops you from writing? A stiff neck and a numb bottom. ; -)

How have you shocked your readers?I’m not sure if I ever have!Then again, I did start a novel with the words ‘Just don’t do the orgasm thing!’You had to read the next few lines to find out why the character said it.Most people thought it was funny, but I did sense a few sharp intakes of breath from some others….!

How do you get your ideas? What is your writing day like?Ideas come from all over – snatches of conversation, the history of a place, something significant someone told me about in the past that I always remembered….all kinds of things.My writing days are different all the time – it depends on what else is going on that day.I rarely have anything I could call a ‘typical’ writing day, I’m afraid!

Can you share three writing tips?

Make notes of everything you hear that strikes you as funny or useful.

Write when you can, but don’t beat yourself around the head if you can’t.

Read widely, and read books by really good writers.

Fill in this blank:My ideal fictional hero would think me gorgeous if….I stayed true to myself and didn’t worry what other people thought of me.

What's your favorite dessert? An Italian ‘affogato,’ which is vanilla ice cream with a strong espresso coffee and a shot of Disaronno Amaretto liqueur poured over the top.Yum!

Hey Jane! Hey Princesses! Loved the post. Yes, that's exactly where things come from. Things overheard and remembered, sometimes for years, from all over. And dear Plotting Princesses, the bag of Hershey Macadamia Nut kisses is stashed in my cabinet at work and I pull out three or four of them after lunch every day. What a sweet treat! Thank you so much!

Hi, Jane--I remember this story--it has your classic stamp on it, for sure. You write dialogue like no one else can, and dialogue is the glue that holds the story together. I'd recommend this to anyone and everybody!

Welcome Jane. I have a confession. Given the busy day job, I often scan blogs. But you got my attention and gave me a smile with your opening line, "Just don't do the orgasm thing!" I'd have to keep reading after that opening. Great post.

Hello everyone! What a lot of lovely, supportive comments! This is a super blog, and I'm really glad I found it - I'll be looking in often! It's so nice to see 'old' friends coming along, and lovely to meet some new people, too. :)

For those of you who asked - the book with the 'shocking' opening line is called A Different Kind of Honesty. It was first published several years ago, and I'm delighted that it's going to be re-published in 2012 by Muse it Up. There's a little more about it, plus an excerpt at my blog on this link: http://janerichardsonhome.blogspot.com/2011/11/announcing-very-special-contract.html